For the better part of December 2017, I had to be in the US on work. Visited beautiful Cincinnati and the snowed out Wisconsin.
But, of course, it had to start out weird. Got caught in a freak snowstorm in London. Flight to San Francisco cancelled. Whole series of meetings in the US cancelled. British Airways making a royal mess of managing their home airport. No cabs to even take you out of the airport. Thankfully have family in London and a still valid visa so did not have to sleep in the airport. No sight of bags though. Find it if you can!
Lost bags also meant no winter clothes! I was still very much dressed for Bangalore and for San Francisco. Well out you go to shop some. And then some more.
Cincinnati was mostly work. It was fairly cold and didn’t do much going out. However, did end up going for a long walk to the riverside at night. Pretty little place but no people. A little unsettling, if you ask me.
I also had to head out to Appleton near the great lakes for a day. We were welcomed by a blanket of snow. The town had the quintessential Christmas feel with snow bound houses with loads of Christmas lights and decorations outside. It was straight out of a picture postcard.
Finally got around to going out on Saturday. The team had left and I had a weekend to kill. Went out exploring for better part of the day. This clearly was the nice part of town.
The Purple People’s Bridge and Newport Levee across the river was interesting. Privately owned bridge turns pedestrian only and is now trying to become part of the lifestyle to keep up with the costs. Dancing, zumba, festivities and whatnot. Unfortunately, none of that was on display today since it was so bloody cold.
The giant Christmas tree near the hotel was constantly beckoning. Decided to pay a visit and participate in the cheer going around.
Eventually, it was the day to leave. The weather had improved markedly and I still had a meeting to do before flying out so decided to make a day of it. Checked out of the hotel early, parked my luggage with them and went for a walk through the rest of the town. The George Washington Park was nice. Findlay Market looked promising but had not opened for the early hour I was there.
This was also the no-so-nice part of town. Looked like a predominantly black population. Lot of decrepit, crumbling houses. Streets not exactly clean. A different side of Cincinnati. Of perhaps America itself. However,
around Findlay Market, it was easy to see a sort of quiet transformation being brought about by the hipsters. They are a weird lot but by god, they can turn a place around. Look forward to visiting here again.
Goodbye Cincinnati. Until next time…
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